Machine for and method of making staples



Oct. 19 1926.

1,603,935 c. c. BLAKE MACHINE FOR AND METHdD OF MAKING STAPLES Filed Nov. 6, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wham Oct. 19 1926. v 1,603,935

c. c. BLAKE MACHINE FOR AND IETHOD'OF MAKING STAPLES Filed Nov. s, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a: v a f 5 o o I z? i 6 as 19 s F {l k i i, E g M43 z g T QHHH 5% F i 4 i 20 I J 5 VENTUR F gmhm QQ'J WNW Patented Oct. 19,1926. r 1,603,935

'UhllTED STATE'S'PATENT ()FFICE.

CHARLES C. BLAKE, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR- AND METHOD OF MAKING STAPLES.-

Applieation filed November 6, 1920. SerialNo. 422,277.

The present invention relates to the art of of making staples is much faster than any making double-ended articles such, for inmethod heretofore devised. stance, as staples. I prefer, however, to form a succession of 55 In the present commercial machines for bends in the wire to form the heads or shoulmaking staples the wire, from which the ders of a plurality of staples and their to cut staples are made, at the commencement of the wire between the bends to form the ends each cycle of operations is located on a of the staples and separate them from the source of supply with the free end of the wire. Obviously, I may cut the wire beto wire pointed to form one endof the staple. tween the bends to'simultaneously form the 0 The cycle of operations performed on the ends of a plurality of staples but to insure wire to make a staple consists in feeding a continuity it is more desirable to cut the wire length of wire sufficient for the staplefrom between the bends successively so that the the source of supply, cutting diagonally out may be made while the wire is being bent on through the wire to point the other end of in readiness for the out. Stated in another the staple and separate the length of wire Way, after a succession of bends have been from the wire on the source of supply, shapproduced in the wire to form the heads or ing the cut-off length of wire'between formshoulders of a plurality of staples, a cut is ers to shape the head or shoulder of the made between two of the bends simultane 7 staple, and finally stripping the finished ously with the formation of a new bend in staple from the formers. Considerable time the wire and these operations are continued is consumed in performing the feeding, repeatedly until the wire is exhausted from forming and stripping steps as the stroke the source of supply. More specifically, I of the feed must be equal to the length of wind the wireabout a rotating mandrel the wire in a staple, and the stroke of the oblong in cross section to form the'heads or formers and the stroke of the stripper must shoulders of a plurality of staples and I food be greater than the height of the staple. As the coils of Wire along the mandrel. to a the steps of feeding, cutting, forming and point where a cut may be made between two stripping are performed successively the of the shoulders. I make a out between the output of staples in the present commercial shoulders at every half revolution of the 30 inachines is definitely limited by the time mandrel so that two staples are produced at "consumed in performing the feeding, out each rotation of the mandrel. As the manting, forming and stripping steps. drel is continuously rotated the wire is con- The object of the present invention is to stantly being drawn from the source of supdevise a method of making, from a wire, ply, then wound in coils on the mandrel to 35 double-ended articles, such as staples, cotter form the heads or shoulders of the staples,

pins and the like which'will produce a satand these coils are then fed to the cutting isfactory product in greater quantities per point where the out is made between the unit of time than has heretofore been found shoulders to form the ends of the staples possible. and sever them from the wire on the rotating 4 To the accomplishment of this object a mandrel.

feature of the present invention contem- By my method I have reduced the time of plates the production from a wire of doublemaking a staple to the time required to make ended articles such as staples, cotter pins the short stroke of the cutter as the wire is and the like by first bending the wire to bent to form the head or shoulder of a staple shape the article and thereafter severing the and a fresh length of Wire is drawn from the wire on opposite sides of the bend to form source of supply during the stroke of the the ends of the article while leaving all the cutter. I have therefore saved all the time bends intact. required in the old method for the feeding,

Broadly considered the successive steps of forming and stripping steps. Obviously the 50 bendingand cutting of the wire may be carpresent invention initiates an important adried out in any manner found desirable or Vance in the art of making staples or other expedient as I have found that this method ,double pointed or ended articles.

tation-of the mandrel en ages the last *6 The present invention will be best understood from an inspection of the accompanying drawings illustrating the best form of the inventionat present devised; in Which- F igure'lis a central sectional elevation "of a machine for making staples;

Fig. 2 is a right side elevation;showingthe rotating plate and cutters carried thereby and operating mechanism for th'e cutters;

Fig. 3 is a detail in left side elevation of the mandrel, the coil-feeding ca-1n"and'-*the course of the wire from the sourceof supl y; p Fig. 4 is a detail in [front elevation of the mandrel. the coil feeding cam andth'e- :posie tion of the cutters advanced and withida a-w n, respectively; p p p p p p Fig. 5 is a perspective of-a-staplemade by the machi-nein accordance-with the present n';': -n

Fig; 6 is ,a detail'inbottoinplan offthe endof'theman'drel.

In practicing the present invention-the wire-'1, from a suitable source of supply (not shown), isledbeneath a guide 1 011112 1) to a mandrel? (Fig. '3). This mandrel is oblong in cross section so that when the wire is coiled thereon (Figs. 1 and 14,) the mandrel will ben'dthe wi-re and thus form the head or shoulder at of the staple (Fig. 5). The mandrel is rotated during the operation of the machine to draw wire continuously from the source of supply and wind the wire in a plurality of coils6 (Figs. '1 and 4 about the mandrel.

To this end the mandrel 3 'is formed on the end of a bar 7 (Fig. l) which issecured to a piston 8 rotatablymoun'ted in a cylinder 9 on the machine frame. The bar 7 is also secured to a second piston 10 rotatably mounted in a cover piece 11 for the cylinder 9. V

In order to rotate the mandrel 3 the coils of wire thereonare engaged by the sides of an opening 12 (Fig. 2) in a bar'13 secured to a rotary plate 14:. The plate '14 issecured to a pulley 15 which is driven during the operation of the machine by a belt (not shown) from some suitable source of power. The pulley 15 rotates on a series of roller bearings 16 interposed between the pulley and a cylindrical tube 17 secured to a hearing 18 on the machine name.

During the rotation of the mandrel the wire is drawnfromthe source creeply and wound in coils about the mandrel. li-i'or'oler "for each of the coils to be fed along the mandrel to ake roonrfor arrest supply ofwi're the cover piece '11 (Fig.1) carries of wire on tli and as it w th the other eerie-sing etsmanure;

face feeds the coils a distance corresponding to the gauge of Wire used. To permit the removal of the tube 19 and the substitution-{of another tube. having a cam face 20 thereon shaped to feed 'avire of a different --gau-ge-the tube 19 is held in place by a set screw 21 -ca-rried by.-a- -ring 22 secured by a of a plura'l-ity of'sta-ples, the cam face 20 actingto' fe'ed the coils toward the end of the mandrel.

In order to cut the -wire between the shoulders and thus form the ends of the s'taples'a's'tli'e coils of Wire reach the end of the-mandrel, the plate 14 carries a pair of cutters and 24 (Fig. 2). lhe cutter s'i23 and24 are a'djustably iconne'cted 'to: slidsf25 and 26, respectively, mounted to slide "beneath the cover plates secured to "the plate 14. The -cutters"2"3 and '24 are operated by'a stationary cam '27 on .the machine frame which engages cam rolls 28 and 29 on the slides 25 and 26, respectively. "The cam face 20 is designed to impart two quick feeding steps to the wire coils at each rotation of the mandrel with a dwell between each feeding step in order to temporarily suspend the *feeding movement of the coils along the -mandrel while a cutter is severing the wire.

During the rotation of the machine the cam rolls 28 and 29 travel continuously along the cam 27. lVhen the cutters are in the position of F ig.2 the lower cutter is elevated by the cam to shear through the wire at the end of the mandrel and form one'end of the staple and separate it from the wire on the mandrel While the upper cutter is thrown into an inoperative position by centrifugal force. At the time the lower cutter is in operation the mandrel is in the position of Fig. 3. As shown in Fig.3 the cut made by the cutter is diagonally across the wire so that the same out which forms one end of the staple points the end of the wire on the 'Inandrcl to form the end of the next staple, the other end of which is formed by the other cutter at the next half revolution of the machine. With this construction two staples are formed at each revolution. During the operation of the cutters to out the wire the bar 13 (Figs. '1 and 2) acts as an anvil on the coils of wire onthe'mandrel and corrects any tendency for the "bend in the coil to'bow across "the top of the "mandrel. This take the spring out of the head of the staple in order to permit the cutters to shear diagonally across the wire the st es of the end. ,o'-the1nandre1 are reversely inclined (Fig."eyand thea ee 1'1t fa es of the mandrel water-else I slightly to form shearing stroke of the cutter.

edges cooperating with the cutters respectively. As the cutter shears across the end of the mandrel a completely formed staple is chopped oil the wire on the mandrel and this staple drops into the tube 17.

Heretotore it has been a common practise to mount a cam roll for rotation on a stationary pin. Owing, however, to the high speed at which the cam roll rotates it is difficult to properly oil the cam roll andits bearing. To overcome this difficulty the cam rolls 28 and 29 are composed of two race rings one or which, the ring 30, is s.- cured to a stationary pin 31 on the plate l t and the other one of which. the ring 32, is rotatably mounted on balls 33, interpo-ed between the rings. With this construction the oil may b maintained between the rings without danger of it being thrown out of the machine by centrifugal force.

To operate the machine the wire is drawn from the source of supply and wound by hand on the mandrel until suiiicient coils have been made to cause their engagement with the sides of the opening in the bar 13. The machine is then thrown into operation. At every rotation of the mandrel enough wire is drawn from the source of supply to make two staples and this length or wire is wound about the mandrel to form the heads or shoulders of two staples. During the rotation of the mandrel the coils o'l Wire thereon are fed by the cam face 20 towards the end 01, the mandrel. As the coils of wire reach the end of the mandrel each of the cutters shear across the end of the mandrel once for each revolution thereof thereby forming a staple at each cut. During the time required to make the stroke oil the cutter to produce a staple a lengthot wire for a staple is being fed from the source or sup ply to the mandrel and bent thereon to'form the head or shoulder of the staple.

Consequently, the feeding, forming and cutting steps of the present method are performed in the time it takes to make the As this stroke is short the machine is operated at a very high speed resulting in an enormous output of staples.

What is claimed as new is:

1. That improvement in the art of making double-ended articles from a wire which consists in bending the wire to shape the artiole. and then cutting the wire on opposite sides of the bend, leaving all the bends intact to form the ends of the article.

2. That improvement in the art of making staples from a wire which consists in shaping the wire. on a mandrel to form the heads and sides of a pair of staples and then cutting each side intermediate the heads to form the points of the pair of staples.

' 3. That improvement in the art of making double-ended articles from a wire which consists in coiling the wire on a niapdrel to form a plurality of bends and then cutting the wire intermediate each successive bend.

t. That improvement in the art of making staples from a wire which consists in coiling the wire to form the head or shoulder of the staple, and then cutting the wire on opposite sides of the bend to "form the ends of the staple.

5. That improvement in the art of making staples from a wire which consists in bending the wire on a mandrel to "form the head or shoulder of the staple, and then out ing the wire on the mandrel on opposite sides of the bend to term the ends of the staple.

6. That improvement in the art of making staples from a wire which consists in coiling the wire on a mandrel oblong in cross section, and then cutting the wire on the long sides of each coil.

7. That improvement in the art of malting staples from a wire which consists in feeding the wire to a mandrel oblong in cross section, rotating the nandrel to coil thewire thereon, and cutting the wire on the long sides of each coil during the rotation of the mandrel.

8. That improvement in the art of mak ing staples from a wire which consists in feeding the wire to a mandrel oblong in cross section, rotating the mandrel to coil the wire thereon, feeding the coils of wire along the mandrel, and cutting the wire on the long sides of each coil during the rotation of the mandrel. I

9. hat improvement in the art oi making staples from a wire which consists in coiling the wire on a mandrel oblong in cross section, and then cutting diagonally across the wire on the long sides of each coil.

10. That improvement in the art of maring staples from a wine which consists in coiling the wire on a rotating mandrel, and cutting the wire on the long sides oi each coil whereby two staples are produced at each rotation 01" the mandrel. v

11. That improvement in the art of making staples from a. wire which consists in forming a plurality of bends in a length oi, the wire to form the heads or shoulders of; a plurality of staples and then cutting the wire between the bends, leaving all the bends intact to form the ends of the staples and cut them out of the wire.

12. That improvement in the art of making staples from a wire which consists in forming a plurality oi" bends in a length of the wire to form the heads or shoulders of a plurality of staples and then cutting the wire between the bends successively, leaving all the bends intact to form the ends ot the staples and cut them out of the wire.

13. A machine for making staples, having, in combination, means for bending the wire to form thehead or shoulder of the staple,

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in combination,

means threats-11g the n ireonbppes'ite sides of the bend to form the ends of the staple.

14. A machine for making staples, having, in combination, a mandrel oblong in cross sect-ion, means for boiling the Wire on the mandrel to form the head or shoulder oi the staple, and means for cutting the Wire :10 posite sides of the shoulder to form the ends of the staple.

15. A machine tor making staples, having.

in Combination, "a mandrel oblong in croc's section, means for rotating the mandrel to draw the wire from a ource of supply an'd coil the Wire about the mandrel to form the header shoulder of the staple, and means for cutting the Wireon the long sides of each coil. 1 7

16. A machine for making staples, hitting, a mandrel oblong inc-Toss section. 'mean 's for rotating the mandrel to draw the Wire from a scur'ce'o'tt' supp j coil the Wire jaboutth'e mandrel to form'the head or shoulder of the staple, means for feeding the coils along the mandrenand means for cutting the Wire on the long sides of each coil. 7 v

17. A machine for making staples, having, in combination a rotary drum, bar having an oblong opening therein 0 rried by the drum, n mandrel rotatably mounted and arranged to pass freely through the opening in the bar whereby a coil of Wiif on the mandrel will be engaged by the "sides of the opening in the bar and cause the mandrel to rotate With the drum.

18. A machine for making staples, having, in combination, a mandrel constructed to support a coil of Wire, and cutting mechanism constructed and arranged to cooperate with the free end of the mandrel and shear each coil of the Wire.

19. A machine for making staples, hav ing, in combination, a mandrel oblong in cross section constructed to support Wire coiled about the mandrel, and cutting mech messes anism constructed and ar'ranged to cooperate with the free end of the'maird rel and shear the 'Wire'on the longsides of each coil.

20. A mahinetor making staples, having, in combination, cutting mechanism for forming the ends of the staple, bending mechanism for forming the heads or shoulders of the staples, and means for transferring the product of cutting mechanism. 7

21. A machine for inak'ing staples, having, in combination, cutting mechanism for forming the'ends of the staple, and bending mechanism for forming the headsor shoulders of the staples and drawing the Wire fromthe source of-supply. N p p 22. A machine for making staples, having, in combination a mandrel oblong in cross section constructed to supp rt wire coiled about the mandrel "and havi ngits long side's inversel inclined and the adjacent faces beveled to form shearing edges, an'dcutti-ng mechanism constructed and-arran ed tocooperate with the shearing edges of the mandrel and shear the Wire diagonally across the long sides of each coil.

23. A machine for making staples, having,

in combination, a mandrel, means for rotati'ng'the mandrel to draw the Wire from a soui c'e of supply and coil the Wire about the mandrel, and a cam constructed to impart two quick feeding steps to the coils on the mandrel during each rotation thereof.

24. A machine for making staples, having, in combination, a mandrel, means for ro'tan ing thema ndrel to draw the Wire from a source of supply and coil the Wire about the mandrel, a cam constructed to impart two quick feeding steps to the coils on the man-- drel durin'g'each rotation thereof, and cutting mechanism acting between each feeding step to sever a coil.

In testimony whereof I name to this specification.

CHARLES o. BLAKE.

have signed my 

